Martin Barkey’s passion for auto racing goes back more than 20 years to when he used to drag race on Highway 11 at Huntsville’s Old North Road.
Since that time he and his wife Ginger have built three successful businesses in the automotive field – MBRP, The Garage and Autosave – that are major employers in the Huntsville area. That business success has also enabled Martin Barkey to pursue his dream and, for the past three years, he has been racing cars on the professional circuit.
“I remember having 150 people come watch a drag race way out behind Windermere that I had with a gentleman from Orillia,” said Barkey, sitting in his spacious office overlooking his three businesses. “You used to be able to do that. This gentleman had a really fast car. There were cruise nights so he asked me if I would race and of course we did. It was done safe, and it thrilled the crowd. And, by the way, I won.
“Another gentleman in town had a yellow Camaro, years and years ago, and I had met him through the car club and the night I met him we decided to go race on Highway 11 and Old North Road. My father actually stood in the middle of the highway and flagged the race.
“I’ve always enjoyed my cars and I’ve enjoyed going fast, but you can’t do that today and you shouldn’t do that.”
After more than a decade of building his successful businesses with his wife Ginger, Martin Barkey once again decided to follow his passion and started racing his Dodge Viper about seven years ago.
“It was 500 horse. I just went to the track and taught myself how to ride around and I really caught the bug,” he said with a smile and a glint in his eye remembering the occasion. “I enjoyed it and I ended up buying a race car. I was getting uncomfortable in my Viper going 150 miles per hour up the back stretch at Mosport. It was a car without a cage and just a regular seat belt. So I bought a Dodge Racing Viper ACR-X, one of only 50 Dodge built in the world. I went to the track days, teaching myself how to go around and drive faster and faster. When you feel safe with racing brakes and race cage and harnesses, you could do the lap in shorter time because you had the confidence of latest technology.”
Martin Barkey’s Dodge Viper ACR-X
From there, Barkey starting racing in the CASC (Canadian Automobile Sports Clubs) Racing series in southern Ontario, first with his Viper ACR-X and later in the Porsche Cup series with a new Porsche 911. He called it great grassroots racing.
“I had a lot to learn,” he said. “I was 44 years old racing against young kids. I was fortunate enough to win rookie of the year with the Viper in my first year.”
The new venture also turned out to be a bonding exercise with his employees.
“My racing team then was made up of guys who worked here at MBRP and The Garage Monday through Thursday. We would leave on a Friday for the race track with our own truck and trailer. It was great for building relationships. That fueled the fire I had to be even more competitive.”
A couple of events after that have played a major role in Martin Barkey’s rise up the ladder in the last three years on the professional circuit.
One was the meeting and eventual partnering with another young driver, Kyle Marcelli from Barrie.
“I hired him to be my driving coach for a couple days and I learned so much from him. He’s been my coach now for four years. We have also been drive partners in professional racing series and it’s only this year we are not driving together.”
There was also the introduction of modern technology and its impact on car efficiency on the track.
“We have what’s called the data centre in our trailer. Every driver input possible is measured, everything mechanically is measured, and you link that to video. As drivers we can’t get away with anything now. The data that engineers are collecting leaves no room for excuses for leaving time on the track.”
The first two years on the professional circuit was in an endurance championship series where two drivers drive the car in a two-and-a-half hour race. Marcelli and Barkey drove a Porsche 911 for Rebel Rock Racing and then later a Camaro Z/28.R for Mantella Autosport.
Barkey’s Porsche 911
This year Barkey moved on to the Pirelli World Challenge GTS series, previously known as the Grand Am.
Barkey is still with Mantella Autosports and has bought his own car, a KTM X-Bow out of Germany.
“It’s been a big year of learning,” he said, “developing a brand new car. We had the first KTM in North America and now there are six or seven. Our team has three of them. We are very happy with what we have accomplished. We’ve been able to develop the cars and be competitive in a professional racing series. I am very blessed to be able to do this. I do have the best team in the paddock.”
The MBRP KTM X-Bow
“I’m an old guy in a young guy’s sport, so it forces me to keep in shape, have the endurance that some of these young guys bring to the racing circuit. I credit Lowell Grieb of The Sport Lab in Huntsville for my nutrition and workout routine. Over the last three years I buckled down and did what I had to do in the gym to lose 30 pounds.
“The physical side inside the car is unbelievable. In the heat of the summer in the Virginias we can see 153 degrees Fahrenheit inside the cab of the car and we will be pulling 2Gs of force into some of the corners on the track. I have a full interactive suit that I wear and I bring that back to Lowell and he will analyze my heart rate, and my breathing.”
All of this hard work and preparation, not to mention that investment of time and money, resulted in a first place finish this year in sprint racing at Monterey Beach California.
“Our team has had five podiums,” said Barkey, “and I was fortunate enough to have three podiums. We actually won the last race of the year. My teammate Anthony also drove well this year and he was on the podium twice.”
Martin Barkey (centre) stands proudly on the podium
“In sprint racing you have to have the killer instinct because you have to go for positions the minute the flag drops, not like the much longer endurance races. It’s only a 50-minute race. It’s a real thrill, two of them every weekend. I was fortunate enough to have the pole position in three of those events and that made me believe I have learned so much over the past seven years.”
Martin finished 11th out of 38 drivers this year, and Mantella Autosports was seventh of 17 teams.
And while he has enjoyed this success, Barkey says auto racing is truly a team sport.
“The drivers get noticed, the drivers are shaking hands and talking to people, the drivers are doing this and that, and although its great being a driver, truly it’s a team deal.”
Barkey and his team are hoping for bigger and better things in 2017. He is excited about his KTM X-BOW cars which were first in the Manufacturer’s division this year, and also the influence they can have on his businesses.
“This is a branding opportunity for MBRP,” he said. “We have been supported by various brands, but a lot of it is self-financed, but with a definite return.”
Photos supplied by Martin Barkey
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We are on a trip with our rpod trailer. In Nova Scotia. For something to pass the time we read your bio. You’ve done real well. Proud to have known you all those years ago. Please give my best to your parents and Ginger.
Diana.